Are you living in a grand house upstairs, with a dark,
dreary room below that is not being used except to store a set of old bicycles
and your husband’s skis? Are you thinking of finally making a change and doing
a basement renovation? Does the thought of painting and plastering and cleaning
up scare you? Don’t let it.
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A basement renovation plan might be as simple as
drywall finishing the wall framing, a few extra light fixtures, and shelving to
increase basement storage potential – or it can be as involved as transforming
the area using a family room design or basement game room that includes
finished walls, ceiling, carpeting, and the addition of bathroom plumbing. Here
are some great basement renovation money-saving tips.
Make use of wasted space under the lower end of the
stairway leading into the basement. Consider roll-out bins to hold laundry or
other supplies.
Finish off the floor if your plan is to incorporate a
family room or home office. If the floor in your basement is concrete, decide
on the flooring you will use; laminate or engineered flooring, or carpet.
If you decide on carpet, and your floor is smooth,
carpet and padding can be easily tacked down and stretched directly on top of
the concrete. It’s important to know that once the carpet is stretched that it
lays flat across the entire floor. An uneven floor is where the carpet is
unsupported underneath. Glue the carpet down.
If you decide on laminate or engineered flooring, you
will have a great looking basement. The material and installation is more
expensive than carpeting a floor, but usually cheaper than using a ceramic
tile. Laminate is essentially saw dust and glue, made under great pressure and
a lot of heat. The finishes on laminate are very tough; the floor is sturdy and
wears very well – and good for high-traffic areas.
If part of your basement renovation includes a
bathroom, time and costs can be cut if bathroom fixtures are located near
existing plumbing. This means designing the bathroom floor plan close to the
main waste-vent stack and house drain – with no extra laying of underground
pipes.
When deciding on small bathroom design, it is easier
and less complicated to arrange the bathroom fixtures along a line on one wall.
Check local codes for plumbing and electrical aspects of your project.
Another aspect of basement renovation might be hanging
drywall on concrete basement walls. If your basement walls consist of concrete
instead of basement framing, use masonry nails to install furring strips on
concrete basement walls. Pre-drill the holes first to make the job easier.
Here’s
a handy safety tip: if you plan to add a space heater for basement use, select
a model with safety features such as automatic shut-off in case the unit gets
tipped over. If the basement flooring is flammable, make a brick platform on
which to setthe platform large enough so that if the heater does get tipped over it
won’t fall on the floor.
